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Men Into Space (1959)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:02 pm    Post subject: Men Into Space (1959) Reply with quote

I could have sworn we had a thread for this great show. Well, anyway -- here's the first paragraph from the Wikipedia article about the series.

Men Into Space was a half-hour American sci-fi television series broadcast from September 30, 1959 to September 7, 1960 by CBS which depicted future efforts by the United States Air Force to explore and develop outer space. The black-and-white filmed show starred William Lundigan as Col. Edward McCauley.

And here's the link to the rest of their fine writeup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_into_Space

I watched every episode of this show when it first came out -- but I haven't seen a single one in the last 50 years. This is yet another "lost classic" from the Great Age of Science Fiction Movies and TV Series from the 1950s.

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:48 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bongopete
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm pretty sure there WAS a thread. But I think it was hard to find or something.

Anyway....pretty dry viewing today, yet at the same time it really worked at trying to be accurate.

I can remember at least one product making it to the kids market from this show, a reasonably done space helmet.

Some of the effects and spacesuits from this show were used in later tv series such as The Outer Limits. One episode in which orbital debris was found to be the remains of some ancient destroyed space vehicle has a closing scene where McCauley holds a model of what the scientists extrapolate what the alien ship looked like.

THAT model was made up of the Revell XSL-01 and the Lindberg Mars (Star or whatever it is now) Probe and some wings from something else.
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Bongopete
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that two pages was pretty slim for this show.

Sure it was only a half hour long and wasn't a zip along show...but for a kid who was interested in the space program it was great!

Considering that the show was for the most part, not allowed to go off and venture into the general tropes of scifi, it was still good. AND at that time, touched on some real items that science was interested in.

I can remember that aside from things dealing with attempting to refuel one space ship from another, space walks, etc....that how deep might dust be on the moon was in an episode.

Building a space station, a moon base...matter of fact what 'Men into Space' almost realizes is what some Army planners were thinking about in a 3 month previously released report called 'Project Horizon'.
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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 8:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Starting today and continuing weekly John Kennith Muir's Reflection on Cult Movies and Classic TV is doing an episode-by-episode review of the series.

http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is a very good article, Butch, and well worth reading. I look forward to reading the others as they appear.

Thanks for sharing this with us.



Bulldogtrekker and I shared all the Men into Space episodes about a year ago, using the downloaded YouTube videos, chatting on Facebook while we each played the videos at home after starting them at a given signal.

Recently we decided to start over and watch them again. The article heightened my interest in re-watching this neglected treasure.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 12:03 am    Post subject: Men into Space Reply with quote

This was a great series!

I remember watching it religiously in 1959, and it still holds up as a vision of the early "space race" era. This is a list of all episodes, including the unaired last one. Many are available on youtube.

Gord
Star Pirate

(1959—1960)

Episode List

S1, Ep 1

30 Sep. 1959 Moon Probe
The first test of an orbital flight around the Moon is scheduled. During liftoff one of the stages does not separate correctly causing the ship to no longer be under control. A crew member goes outside the ship to inspect the damage. While outside an accident occurs that endangers both his life and that of the crew and ship

S1, Ep 2

7 Oct. 1959 Men Into Space
Four men in Moonship Alpha attempt the first Moon landing. The ship begins to topple after touchdown, forcing an emergency lift-off. A crew member, not in his acceleration-couch, is injured but conceals the fact.

S1, Ep 3

21 Oct. 1959 Building a Space Station
McCauley supervises a team assembling a space station in orbit when tragedy strikes.

S1, Ep 4

28 Oct. 1959 Water Tank Rescue
When an astronaut is stricken by a heart attack on the Moon, McCauley must find a way to get him back to Earth.

S1, Ep 5

4 Nov. 1959 Lost Missile
When an experimental nuclear-powered missile goes out of control, its creator insists on accompanying McCauley into space to try and disarm it before it can strike the moon and wipe out a twelve-man expedition.

S1, Ep 6

11 Nov. 1959 Moonquake
Trailblazer I is on route to the Moon when one of the crew gets word their wife has been hurt in a car wreck. Although distracted, the crewman needs to focus all his skills and abilities to overcome a major accident.

S1, Ep 7

18 Nov. 1959 Space Trap
Returning from the Moon with valuable spore samples the crew of MR7 are rendered unconscious. Earth sends a rescue mission but a decision has to be made that could put everyone's life at risk.

S1, Ep 8

25 Nov. 1959 Asteroid
An asteroid straying close to Earth becomes the subject of an experiment. It is decided to scout the asteroid with a view of turning it into a mobile space station. If not the rock must be destroyed.

S1, Ep 9

2 Dec. 1959 Edge of Eternity
Shortly after leaving the Moon a spacecraft is hit by an asteroid destroying their oxygen supply. The three man crew now become engaged in a life and death battle to extend their oxygen supply long enough to make it home.

S1, Ep 10

9 Dec. 1959 Burnout
Test continue on a new alloy for re-entry. On one test the ship acts erratically and although the crew is saved the ship is lost. A second mission is launched to try and understand what went wrong.

S1, Ep 11

16 Dec. 1959 First Woman on the Moon
It is decided to conduct an experiment to see if women could handle the rigors of spaceflight and living on the Moon. The plan is to send a woman to the Moon for 90 days. Initially she doesn't cope very well through a lack of training or projects to complete. Eventually she comes up with a novel set of activities to try and show her value to the mission

S1, Ep 12

23 Dec. 1959 Christmas on the Moon
McCauley and two astronomers are on the Moon on Christmas day, and one of them is stricken with appendicitis.

S1, Ep 13

30 Dec. 1959 Quarantine
Two scientists who can't get along are assigned to the same space station, and McCauley has to keep the peace.

S1, Ep 14

6 Jan. 1960 Tankers in Space
It is decided to attempt fuel transfers between space craft while flying in orbit. The requirement for precision control of two spacecraft is met by using a pair of specially trained twins. Safety is the primary concern, but ensuring this, they overlook one potential fatal flaw in the mission

S1, Ep 15

13 Jan. 1960 Sea of Stars
Col. McCauley is training a young cadet who wants to be an astronaut, and pushes the young man almost to his limit. When an onboard accident knocks out McCauley, the nervous young cadet has to bring the craft back to Earth on his own.

S1, Ep 16

20 Jan. 1960 A Handful of Hours
Four men a stranded after their spacecraft crash lands on the Moon. Their only hope of survival is to walk to Moonbase. All goes well till they realize the oxygen tank they are carrying to resupply themselves has a faulty valve. There is a way around the problem, but the cost may be too high for the team to accept

S1, Ep 17

27 Jan. 1960 Earthbound
An eager, space-enthusiast technician installs a smaller Guidance Control System he designed into the rocket ship. There is now room in the equipment bay for him to stow away on the next flight. But during the 12G takeoff his improvised couch crushes the equipment rack, causing the ship to lose all power before reaching orbit. The uncontrollable ship will quickly re-enter and burn unless repairs can be completed.

S1, Ep 18

3 Feb. 1960 Caves of the Moon
A mission is sent to explore a cave system on the Moon in the hope of finding ice. Having a source of water available would enable the colonisation of the Moon.

S1, Ep 19

10 Feb. 1960 Dateline: Moon
A maverick journalist wins an opportunity to visit the Moon base. An opportunist he will look for anyway to manufacture a story, and his gambling habits put him at odds with the base commander.

S1, Ep 20

17 Feb. 1960 Moon Cloud
A scientist's wife warns McCauley that her husband Perry's's co-worker Hal Carter is jealous of his success. McCauley doesn't believe her, but when Perry's theory about radioactive gas on the moon prove correct, Hal plots to kill Perry.

S1, Ep 21

2 Mar. 1960 Contraband
McCauley must take four scientists back to the moon to find a deposit of a valuable mineral that one of them stole, so that he can trick the thief into revealing himself.

S1, Ep 22

9 Mar. 1960 Dark of the Sun
Tensions mount as final crew selections go forward for a special observation flight of the sun. At the core of the conflict is the potential for one of the crew to be a woman. The other candidates fail to treat her as a highly trained crew person and only see her as a vulnerable woman. Ultimately she uses her gender to solve the problem

S1, Ep 23

16 Mar. 1960 Verdict in Orbit
Col McCauley, while serving on the space station gets word his son has been seriously injured in a hit and run accident near the rocket base. Tension mounts as word comes through the driver of the car has been identified, and appears to be on duty on board the space station. With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide on the station, how will this terrible emotional conundrum be resolved

S1, Ep 24

23 Mar. 1960 Is There Another Civilization?
While on a routine flight one of the rockets is hit by a meteor fragment. On Earth they run tests to discover the meteor is not only made of metal, but appears to have been artificially created. A second flight is launched immediately to retrieve more samples. What they discover may solve one of the greatest mysteries known to man

S1, Ep 25

30 Mar. 1960 Shadows on the Moon
A Moon survey mission finds a curiously-shaped rock formation. A month later, members of the return mission encounter other mysterious events and suspect that they are not alone.

S1, Ep 26

6 Apr. 1960 Flash in the Sky
A ship tasked with retrieving a malfunctioning Venus probe runs into issues when the scientist in charge, a friend of McCauley's insists on going despite previously disobeying McCauley's orders.

S1, Ep 27

13 Apr. 1960 Lunar Secret
A series of photographs taken by an expedition on the Moon shows some sort of artificial object moving up on a ridge. Two men are sent to investigate; what they find amazes them. Then an accident leaves them in deadly danger.

S1, Ep 28

20 Apr. 1960 Voice of Infinity
Space station Astra is chosen for a medical experiment to measure men's reactions to stress and fatigue. The medical director is convinced he can quantify a person's reactions to strain and so prevent accidents. Then a life-threatening problem on the space station requires men to perform well beyond their limits. An inner "voice of infinity" is what they heard, enabling them to save the situation.

S1, Ep 29

27 Apr. 1960 From Another World
Colonel McCauley returns from Asteroid 78-1. The mission was cut short by the failure of his suit oxygen supply. He is insistent that just before he passed out he saw fossil evidence of life on the asteroid. Unconnected with this, Air Force medical staff have recommended his prolonged series of missions requires a 60-day 'grounding' to recover from stress. Will McCauley be able to lead the return mission to the asteroid if its unpredictable orbit permits another rendezvous?

S1, Ep 30

4 May 1960 Emergency Mission
A miss-fire of the MR28 sees the craft miss the Moon and head for deep space. The only chance of rescue is a new MX experimental rocket. In theory, the new ship should have the range. In practice, no one really knows.

S1, Ep 31

11 May 1960 Beyond the Stars
A 3-man team visit the Lunar Observatory, isolated from all Earth signals on the Moon's far side, for routine Radio Telescope work. They pass the time during a long sky-mapping session by taping 'A glimpse of lunar life' sound-broadcast. An power fault interrupts and requires a Moon walk to the Radio Telescope. One man is badly injured while returning. Unconscious for days, he responds to the tape-recording and deliriously asks to hear the 'sound from the stars'. His colleagues comply and make an interesting discovery.

S1, Ep 32

25 May 1960 Mission to Mars
On the Moon the US and Soviets are in an informal race to be the first to Mars. Both sides play down the need to rush with concerns about safety. Ultimately both missions launch within minutes of each other, but a terrible accident completely changes the game and the ultimate fate of both crews

S1, Ep 33

1 Jun. 1960 Moon Trap
Ship MR34 loses Auto-Control during landing and crashes 200 miles from Moon Base. Two of the crew survive and make for a nearby fuel-cache. Can they use the liquid oxygen there to improvise a survival igloo?

S1, Ep 34

17 Aug. 1960 Flare Up
A Soviet Major is the sole survivor of a crash landing near a US advance moon station. Determined to appear blameless, he reports Americans sabotaged the landing and then takes drastic action to destroy all evidence.

S1, Ep 35

24 Aug. 1960 Into the Sun
A new project involves launching capsules of atomic waste into orbit and then assembling them with an atomic rocket motor. The unit is then accelerated for disposal into the Sun. The civilian Project Engineer, who will attach the a-rocket in space, is a former astronaut who resigned after a re-entry accident. He now lacks confidence in himself and is convinced that no-one else trusts him.

S1, Ep 36

31 Aug. 1960 The Sun Never Sets
Colonel McCauley is assigned to observe and assist the British space program. Their Vega Project will use a more powerful second-stage rocket engine. McCauley has to express the US concerns about the reliability of this engine.

S1, Ep 37

7 Sep. 1960 Mystery Satellite
The crew of MR37 encounter a strange object that they first believe is a meteor till it starts changing direction to match their ship. Whatever the object was it is confirmed it could not have come from Earth. When MR30 also encounters the object, a desperate chase begins to try and identify it

S1, Ep 38

14 Sep. 1960 Flight to the Red Planet
The first mission to Mars is nearing the red planet when a series of accidents and break downs put the mission in doubt. The crew must balance the need for caution and safety against the massive amount of scientific data that could be gained on such an expedition.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 12:14 am    Post subject: men into space Reply with quote

As an addenda to the above :

Men Into Space

series Description

The Men Into Space TV show was a 30 minute sci-fi series on CBS and was television's first attempt at showing what might become the future of mankind's venture into space. It followed the adventures of Colonel Edward McCauley as he travelled by rocket ship from a space station to a moonbase and to other planets in our solar system.

Men Into Space Cast

William Lundigan .............. Colonel Edward McCauley
Joyce Taylor .................. Mary McCauley

Men Into Space Trivia

CBS decided to produce the Men Into Space TV show as a direct response to the launching of the first man-made satellite (Sputnik) by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. That event drew the public's attention to the exploration of space like never before.
In every episode, an astronaut would manage to survive against all odds from some dangerous mishap.
Every effort was made to keep the scripts and props based on scientific fact as much as possible. Numerous scientists and the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force provided assistance in production of the show.

The Men Into Space TV show was produced by Ziv Television Productions who also produced, "The Aquanauts", "Bat Masterson", "Boston Blackie", "The Cisco Kid", "Man and the Challenge", "Science Fiction Theatre", and "Sea Hunt" among many others.

Joyce Taylor played the role of Mary McCauley in the series, but Angie Dickinson played the role in the Men Into Space TV show's pilot!

Space suits, props, and sets from the Men Into Space TV show were also used in the 1959 theatrical movie, "The Phantom Planet".

William Lundigan was discovered by Charles R. Rogers, the head of the production department at Universal Studios when Rogers heard Lundigan voicing a commercial on radio station WFBL in Syracuse, New York. Lundigan got a screen test in New York city which led to his acting career. He can partially thank his father for his discovery. Lundigan's dad owned the building in which WFBL radio was located.

Men Into Space was nominated for the Science Fiction Industry's "Hugo Award" for "Best Dramatic Presentation" in 1960.

Joyce Taylor's stage name came from her hometown of Taylorville, Illinois. She began her career by signing a recording contract with Mercury Records at age 15. Then, in the 1950s, she got a contract with Howard Hughes' RKO Studios. In seven years there, she was only given one small role in the 1956 film, "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt". After that, she did much better with her role on Men Into Space, guest roles on other TV shows, and several supporting roles in feature films.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is also being shown on COMET TV on Sunday nights after MST3K. Still cool after all these years!
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am also re-watching MEN INTO SPACE, only I watch the 7:30 AM episodes on Saturday and Sunday mornings on COMET.

I don't remember it when it was originally on. I think our local CBS station showed SONS OF HERCULES on Friday nights instead.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

On the thread called advanced lunar mission spaceship, Brent posted a diagram of the SpaceX Dragon. (Click on the link, scroll down, and watch the cool thing the jpeg does! Very Happy).

When I looked up a few jpegs of the spacecraft, I noticed something very interesting about the desgin.








The spacecraft in Men into Space bear a certain resemblance to the SpaceX vehicle! Very Happy





Until I saw the SpaceX Dragon I wasn't really fond of the stunted shape of the rocket's in Men into Space. I felt they should have looked a bit more like this.





Make the same modification to the proportions of the SpaceX Dragon and you get something a bit more like what we grew up watching in the 1950s. Very Happy



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:41 am; edited 2 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This series is still very relevant today, if only as an example of our Missed Future.

Us teens and pre-teens of the day watched this regularly and really believed it was a precursor to what we had to look forward to in OUR future.

Too bad it wasn't to be.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 8:23 pm    Post subject: Men into Space logo Reply with quote

Does anyone know anything about the MEN INTO SPACE logo (see below screen logo) that was shown during the end credits? I certainly can't find it using a search engine.

I suspect it was used to hide a cigarette logo that was originally shown during the end credits.

I want to try to copy the logo in MS Paint.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Yep, I like that logo too, and I had fun cleaning it up a bit. It would make a nice avatar for somebody! (Hint, hint, Gordo! Very Happy )


___________________________BEFORE

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___________________________AFTER

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_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:43 am; edited 2 times in total
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That looks nice, thanks Bud. I forgot to mention that some episodes of MEN INTO SPACE don't use the logo. I decided it would be good to practice my CAD by copying the design. If you don't use CAD every month, then you forget how to use it.


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tried to import it Bud, but the program won't let me use the url.
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